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COVID-19 created an opportunity to (re)envision students as partners in curriculum development and the curriculum process. Understanding the design and delivery of courses as a flattened hierarchy, particularly with graduate students as partners, is the focus of this study. This article reports findings from research undertaken collaboratively with students as partners in developing a new approach for conducting a capstone course and project. This research was enacted at a research-intensive university in the United States in 2020 and 2021. We describe the need for the shift in stance to students as partners in our institution as well as what the findings indicate as imperatives for teachers in both K-12 settings and institutions of higher education. The findings indicate how teachers' mental health and experiences of stress were affected by specific attributes of the pandemic and pandemic teaching (which aligns with the majority of COVID-19 research in education), as well as how some learned to cope with these demands. Findings also indicate the need for flexibility in all learning environments.

The article discusses a case of a 4-year-old girl with Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM) presenting with cholestatic liver disease and normal creatine kinase levels. The patient had symptoms of rash, myalgia, arthralgia, weight loss, and weakness, leading to a diagnosis of JDM. The article highlights the importance of considering myositis as a differential diagnosis for raised serum transaminases, even with normal creatine kinase levels. Treatment with high-dose corticosteroids and a Janus kinase inhibitor led to clinical and biochemical remission in the patient. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: We aim to report on the feasibility of establishment of the first paediatric cohort as part of the longitudinal database of the Australian Lupus Registry and Biobank (ALRB) and to describe the enrolment data with a focus on clinical characteristics, serological data, treatment strategies and patient/parent-reported outcome measures., Methods: All patients under the age of 18 years with a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) attending the paediatric rheumatology service of a single, tertiary hospital were identified. Patients were enrolled in the ALRB if they met ≥4/11 of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1997 SLE classification criteria or the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) 2012 classification criteria. Enrolment data including demographics, clinical characteristics, serological profiles, disease activity and damage assessments were recorded. Peds-QL Rheumatology and General Modules were used to assess patient and parent-reported outcomes., Results: Twenty-seven patients were eligible for inclusion, with 26 patients (96%) consenting for enrolment. Twenty-five patients (92%) consented for biobanking. Twenty patients (77%) were female. The median age at enrolment was 16 years (interquartile range (IQR) 13.7, 17.4). The median disease duration from diagnosis was 3.2 years (IQR 1.4, 5.3). Sixteen patients (62%) had synovitis, 16 (62%) had cutaneous involvement, 4 (15%) had serositis, 17 (65%) had haematological involvement and 7 (27%) had renal involvement at enrolment. Nineteen patients (73%) were prescribed at least two disease-modifying anti-rheumatic medications (DMARDs). Hydroxychloroquine ( n = 22, 85%) and mycophenolate mofetil ( n = 9, 35%) were the most commonly prescribed DMARDs. The median SLEDAI-2K score was 2 (IQR 2, 4). Six patients (23%) had active disease (SLEDAI-2K ≥6) at enrolment. Three patients (11.5%) had reported damage using the SLICC/ACR Damage Index. Twenty-three children (88%) and eighteen parents (69%) completed the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Quality of life scores reported across domains of physical, emotional, social and school functioning at enrolment were comparable to previously studied paediatric cohorts with SLE and other chronic diseases., Conclusion: We have established our centre as the first paediatric participating site of the ALRB, providing contemporary data on the clinical characteristics, serological profile and health-related quality of life outcomes of Australian children with SLE. Paediatric involvement with this national registry will provide a unique perspective for future clinical and scientific research. Collection of Australian-specific paediatric longitudinal data will also enable a broader understanding of SLE within a multicultural Australian population., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Aim: This study aimed to examine the transition process of paediatric rheumatology patients from the Monash Children's Hospital (MCH) in Melbourne in order to identify areas that could be improved., Methods: Retrospective review of clinical data from the rheumatology database of paediatric rheumatology patients eligible for transition between January 2015 and September 2020., Results: One hundred and sixty-five patients were included; 57 patients were transitioned. Of patients transitioned to an adult service, 38 (88%) were on medication and 14 (33%) had active disease. All patients transitioned to the general practitioner (GP) had inactive disease off medication. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) (non-systemic) was the most common diagnosis in patients transitioned. The mean age at which transition was first discussed was 18.0 years; the first referral was made at a mean of 18.3 years. The mean age at the first adult appointment was 18.5 years. Thirty-nine (91%) patients had a referral completed and 8 (19%) had a transfer letter. Thirteen (93%) patients transferred to the GP had a transfer letter. Transfer documents to an adult public rheumatology service rated 4.3 for quality, compared to 5.5 to the GP. Transfer of care was confirmed in 40 (93%) patients transitioned to an adult service; however, correspondence was available for only 3 (7%)., Conclusion: Although the transition process at MCH was adequate, it could be improved through earlier discussion of the process and improved referrals and documentation. A readiness-to-transfer checklist and a young adult clinic have the potential to improve the process of transition to adult rheumatology care., (© 2024 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).)

Background: To describe the 3- and 5-year outcomes of an inception cohort of Australian children with JIA for whom 1-year outcomes have previously been published., Methods: Data regarding clinical outcomes of the original cohort of 134 patients at 3 and 5 years were sought. Relevant clinical features and medication exposures entered prospectively into an electronic record were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics., Results: Data were available for 110 and 98 patients at 3 and 5 years, respectively. The proportion of patients with active joints progressively decreased from 34% at 12 months to 21% at 3 years and 16% at 5 years. Cumulative exposure to methotrexate increased between 3 and 5 years (75%-80%), however, point prevalence use decreased (45%-41%). Cumulative exposure and point prevalence use of bDMARDS both increased between 3 and 5 years; 30%-42% and 29%-33%, respectively. Thirty-five percent of patients had inactive joint disease off medications at 5 years, which occurred most frequently in patients with sJIA and oligoarthritis., Conclusion: Five-year outcomes of Australian children with JIA are good, with only a small minority having ongoing active joint disease at 5 years. bDMARDS play an increasing role in management over time; however, methotrexate use remains significant. A majority of children remain on medications at 5 years., (© 2024 The Authors. International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases published by Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: Disease activity in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) commonly persists into adulthood. Transfer of JIA patients to adult healthcare services can be challenging, with prior studies showing poor rates of success., Aims: This audit sought to examine characteristics of patients undergoing transfer of care within the rheumatology unit at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, with the aim of identifying areas for improvement. Specifically, we sought to determine the rate at which confirmation of established care with an adult service (confirmed transfer of care) was documented in the patient chart., Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of JIA who turned 18 years of age between 2012 and 2019 were identified. A chart review was undertaken to collect relevant data., Results: One hundred and seventy-seven patients were identified. In all, 64% (114/177) were referred for adult care. The commonest JIA subtypes referred were seronegative polyarticular (35/114; 30.7%) and oligoarticular JIA (22/114; 19.3%). Documentation of confirmed transfer of care occurred in 62.3% (71/114), with correspondence received from adult services in 49.1% (56/114). There was no difference in rate of return correspondence from public versus private providers (45% vs 53.8%; P = 0.38). The use of 'backstop appointments' was more likely in those with confirmed transfer of care (66% vs 30%; P = 0.0002)., Conclusions: Lack of confirmed transfer of care for JIA patients is common and carries a risk of suboptimal outcomes. Strategies to improve communication with adult services, the routine use of 'backstop' appointments and vigilance regarding potential loss to follow up at the time of transfer would minimise this risk., (© 2021 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.)

Background: Septic arthritis is an uncommon but potentially significant diagnosis to be considered when a child presents to the emergency department (ED) with non-traumatic limp. Our objective was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of clinical findings (history and examination) and investigation results (pathology tests and imaging) for the diagnosis of septic arthritis among children presenting with acute non-traumatic limp to the ED., Methods: Systematic review of the literature published between 1966 and June 2019 on MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. Studies were included if they evaluated children presenting with lower limb complaints and evaluated diagnostic performance of items from history, physical examination, laboratory testing or radiological examination. Data were independently extracted by two authors, and quality assessment was performed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 tool., Results: 18 studies were identified, and included 2672 children (560 with a final diagnosis of septic arthritis). There was substantial heterogeneity in inclusion criteria, study setting, definitions of specific variables and the gold standard used to confirm septic arthritis. Clinical and investigation findings were reported using varying definitions and cut-offs, and applied to differing study populations. Spectrum bias and poor-to-moderate study design quality limit their applicability to the ED setting.Single studies suggest that the presence of joint tenderness (n=189; positive likelihood ratio 11.4 (95% CI 5.9 to 22.0); negative likelihood ratio 0.2 (95% CI 0.0 to 1.2)) and joint effusion on ultrasound (n=127; positive likelihood ratio 8.4 (95% CI 4.1 to 17.1); negative likelihood ratio 0.2 (95% CI 0.1 to 0.3)) appear to be useful. Two promising clinical risk prediction tools were identified, however, their performance was notably lower when tested in external validation studies., Discussion: Differentiating children with septic arthritis from non-emergent disorders of non-traumatic limp remains a key diagnostic challenge for emergency physicians. There is a need for prospectively derived and validated ED-based clinical risk prediction tools., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: To characterize the clinical cognitive phenotypes and severity of cognitive burden according to disease subtype in children with primary central nervous system vasculitis (cPACNS)., Method: This retrospective multicenter inflammatory brain disease database study examined the neuropsychological outcomes of 80 children (44 male; mean age = 7.89 years, SD = 4.17) consecutively diagnosed with primary CNS vasculitis between 1992 and 2016. Twenty-one children had small-vessel disease (AN&#95;cPACNS), and 59 had large-vessel disease (including 49 nonprogressive [APNP&#95;cPACNS] and 10 progressive [APP&#95;cPACNS]). Neuroimaging revealed MRI abnormalities in 100% and 90% of children with large- and small-vessel vasculitis, respectively. The primary outcomes were Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) and the index scores from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III, WISC-IV, and WISC-V). Analyses explored the effect of disease subtype., Results: Intellectual functioning was assessed on average 2.82 years after symptom onset. Children with small-vessel CNS vasculitis had significantly lower FSIQ scores than did those with large-vessel CNS vasculitis (Ms = 81.90 vs. 94.82; p = .04). Intellectual disability (FSIQ < 70) was more frequent in children with small-vessel disease (24% vs. 5%). All groups displayed lower Working Memory and Processing Speed index scores relative to Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Reasoning index scores. Group differences in FSIQ remained significant after controlling for the presence of seizures., Conclusion: Children with small-vessel CNS vasculitis are more likely to demonstrate deficits in intellectual functioning than are those with large-vessel disease, and children with both types of CNS vasculitis demonstrate relatively poor working memory and processing speed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: The advent of new treatments for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) has prompted interest in systematically studying the outcomes of patients treated in the 'modern era'. Such data provide both benchmarks for assessing local outcomes and important information for use in counselling families of newly diagnosed patients. While data are available for cohorts in Europe and North America, no such data exist for Australian patients. The aim was to examine the demographics, treatment and outcomes at 12 months of an inception cohort of newly diagnosed patients with JIA at a single tertiary referral paediatric rheumatology centre in Australia., Methods: Retrospective review of prospectively collected data from patients newly diagnosed with JIA between 2010 and 2014 at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne., Results: One hundred thirty four patients were included (62% female). Oligoarthritis was the single largest category of JIA (36%) and rheumatoid factor positive polyarthritis the least common (2%). Undifferentiated JIA accounted for 13% of patients and was the third largest category. Across the cohort 94% received NSAIDs, 53% oral steroids, 62% methotrexate and 15% a biologic DMARD. Intra-articular steroids were used in 62%, most commonly in the oligoarticular subtype (94%). 95% of patients achieved a joint count of zero at a median of 4.1 months, however flares occurred in 42%. At 12 months 65% had no active joint disease, though more than half remained on medication., Conclusion: Australian children with JIA managed in the modern era have similar characteristics and achieve short term outcomes comparable to cohorts in Europe and North America, with high rates of joint remission in the first 12 months of follow-up but with a significant relapse rate and requirement for ongoing medication.

Central nervous system vasculitis is an increasingly recognized inflammatory brain disease causing devastating neurological deficits and psychiatric manifestations in previously healthy children. Primary central nervous system vasculitis represents an isolated inflammatory attack targeting the cerebral vessels. In contrast, in children with secondary central nervous system vasculitis, an underlying condition can be identified. The spectrum of childhood primary and secondary central nervous system vasculitis is rapidly expanding, as is the differential diagnosis including nonvasculitic inflammatory brain diseases and noninflammatory vasculopathies. Early recognition, rapid diagnostic evaluation, and initiation of treatment have led to improved morbidity and mortality. This review focuses on clinical, laboratory, and neuroimaging characteristics of the distinct subtypes of primary childhood central nervous system vasculitis, reports the etiology of secondary central nervous system vasculitis, provides an overview of the differential diagnosis, and reviews the current approaches in treatment.